July Cheese Tastings
July 2nd, 2010
Country:United States |
CATSKILL GOAT CHEESEA beautiful goat cheese from Stissing Mountain in Upstate New York. Refreshing and mild, it will please most palates. Catskill ages gracefully for several weeks under its bloomy rind. In the process it develops a bit of a mushroom aroma and the flavor of fresh goat milk comes through. Try pairing this New York cheese with most any white wine, Champagne, or even a light beer. |
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Country:United States |
NETTLE MEADOW KUNIKThe Nettle Meadow Kunik is a unique and somewhat decadent cheese made from goat’s milk and Jersey Cow’s milk cream at Nettle Meadow Goat Farm in Thurman, New York. Nettle Meadow is a small 50 acre farm with about 100 does in the Southern Adirondacks. The Kunik is a rich wheel of a bloomy, white rind cheese that is elevated by the addition of the cow cream. The paste is moist; the flavor is tangy and buttery. We recommend that you try pairing Nettle Meadow Kunik with Champagne or other sparkling wines. Each piece weighs approximately one pound. |
Country: United States |
CLASSIC BLUE LOG25th Annual Conference, American Cheese Society’s Winner. The Classic Blue LogThe Classic Blue Log is made in western Massachusetts by Bob Stetson and his wife at their dairy, Westfield Farm. This cheese has won many prizes in US cheese competitions. It is fine-grained in texture with a rich and tangy flavor. The exterior is covered in blue Glaucum mold, making these logs visually striking and imparting a very light blue flavor. Here at the Artisanal Premium Cheese Center caves, we age the Classic Blue Logs for an additional two weeks as the cheese matures and transforms into a mild, elegant blue. One piece weighs approximately 4 ounces. |
Country: United States |
SHELBOURNE TWO-YEAR CHEDDARShelburne Two-Year Cheddar is produced at the namesake Shelburne Farms, the former Vanderbilt Estate just outside of Burlington, Vermont. This American farmstead cheddar is made from the fresh, raw milk of the purebred herd of Brown Swiss cows that roam the meadows around the farm. Shelburne is sharp but not peppery and has a pleasant, lingering finish – a flavor full of milky goodness. Pairs well with pale ales, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay. |
June Cheese Feature
June 1st, 2010
Country:Italy |
BRA TENEROBra Tenero is a cow’s milk cheese from Piedmont region of Northern Italy. The city of Bra is the self-proclaimed capital of cheese in Europe. Bra Tenero, a younger and softer cheese than its cousin Bra Duro, has a semi-hard texture and a dense, slightly piquant flavor. Pair this cheese with Cabernet or a hearty Italian red. |
Country:France |
CANTALETCantalet, related to the British Farmhouse Cheddars, is a cow’s milk cheese from the Auvergne in south-central France. It is weighty, moist, creamy, with a lovely sweet and milky quality. Cantalet is a smaller version of a cheese known as Cantal; both pair wonderfully with reds: from Merlot to Pinot Noir, and many whites: from Sauvignon Blanc to Gewürztraminer. |
Country: United States |
TARENTAISE25th Annual Conference, American Cheese Society’s Winner. |
Country: United States |
FISCALINI BANDAGED CHEDDARFiscalini Bandaged Cheddar is the product of master craftsman Mariano Gonzalez, who perfected his art at Vermont’s Shelburne Farms developing one of the first domestic bandage-wrapped cow’s milk Cheddars. Now in Modesto, California, at Fiscalini Farmstead, Mariano is making his world-class raw milk cheddars using traditional methods and aging them for at least 16 months before releasing them in limited quantities. Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar is a true American farmstead cheddar and sings with a luxurious balance of buttery, grassy, and savory flavors. This cheese is one of the few American cheddars that can compete with the famed cheddars of Neal’s Yard Dairy in England. Try this cheese with crisp apples, or toss a handful into pie crust for a truly sensational apple pie. Pair Fiscalini Bandaged Cheddar with an American Craft Ale, or wines such as Pinot Noir, Gamay, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Grenache. |
May 2010 Cheese Feature
April 27th, 2010
Country: France Milk Type: Cow Type: Firm Wine: Rieslings |
COMTÉComté is a firm pressed cheese made from the raw milk of red and white Montbeliard cows in the Jura Mountains of France in Franche-Comté. The cheese is produced in small, cooperative dairies, known as “fruitières” which collect the milk from farms within 15 miles distance only. Comté is the most popular DOP cheeses in France, and it is claimed that there are more than 83 distinct flavors in Comté, including apricot, chocolate, butter, cream, and grilled bread. Jura wines make a classic pairing for Comté, as well as Rieslings, Muscats, Gewürztraminers, and many of the softer red Bordeaux blends. |
Country: France Milk Type: Cow Cheese Type: Semi-Firm Wine: Riesling |
RACLETTERaclette is a mountain style of a cheese that has a milky flavor and a silky, smooth texture. Younger and a bit softer than most other Alpine styles of cheeses, Raclette is delicious melted over potatoes, vegetables or bread. Raclette is an elegant cheese, exceptionally well-suited for cooler weather. Because this cheese is relatively graceful, this buttery cheese pairs well with many wine types |
Country: United States Milk Type: Cow Cheese Type: Firm |
SEAHIVESeaHive is hand rubbed with wildflower honey and local Redmond RealSalt. The honey is harvested from a local farm where the bee’s visit wildflowers and fruit orchards. The salt is from an ancient sea bed near Redmond, Utah and contains unique flecks of color that are the result of more than 50 natural trace minerals. This cheese is a true expression of local flavors. |
Country: Spain Milk Type: Goat Cheese Type: Semi-Firm Wine: Chardonnay |
MAJORERO PIMENTÓNMajorero Pimentón is a firm, unpasteurized goat’s milk cheese made from the Majorera breed of goats on Fuerteventura, the Canary Island closest to Northern Africa. It is coated in Pimentón, a pepper type that is frequently used in Spanish cuisine and is applied to many of the mainland cheeses. The pimenón was originally used to help protect the rind of the cheese from unwanted mold and bacteria. In this case, it gives a unique appearance to the rind and a smokey, spicy flavor to the paste. The name Majorero comes from the ancient word for a shoe made with goat’s skin, “mahos,” which evolved into Mahorero, the word used to describe contemporary inhabitants of the island as well as the ancient people who called Fuerteventura home before the European invasion. Most Majorero cheese production is artisanal, and over half the goat milk produced on the island is converted into Majorero cheese. The dry, pleasant climate produces a rich, fatty milk ideal for cheesemaking, and the milk is coagulated with animal rennet. Majorero Pimentón is an amazingly versatile cheese partner; it pairs well with most all white wines, sparkling wines, sherries, Cognacs, and many reds. |
April 2010 Cheese Feature
April 5th, 2010 |
COWGIRL CREAMERYMT TAM – Just North of the San Francisco Bay, Mt. Tamalpais rises like a monument to Northern California’s natural beauty. In deference, Cowgirl Creamery named its signature cheese MT TAM. It’s a smooth, creamy, elegant, 10-oz, triple-cream – made with tasty organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy. MT TAM is firm, yet buttery with a mellow, earthy flavor reminiscent of white mushrooms. ST PAT – is our seasonal springtime cheese. These rounds are made with whole organic milk from the Chileno Valley Jersey Dairy and are wrapped with stinging nettle leaves. Do not fear the nettles, since they are frozen to remove the sting before they are wrapped around the cheese. ST PAT, with its distinctive, green rind, commemorates the arrival of spring in Marin County. After three weeks of aging, ST PAT is mellow, soft, and full of flavor. The nettle leaves impart a smoky, artichoke flavor. ST PAT received a Gold Medal at the 2009 North American Jersey Cheese Competition. |
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REDWOOD HILL FARMCalifornia Crottin – Awarded “Best In Show” at the American Dairy Goat Association National Cheese Competition! Our traditional French-style California Crottin has a wrinkly, geotrichum candidum rind, a fluffy texture and robust, earthy flavor. Besides Feta, Crottin is probably our most “decorated” artisan cheese; twice voted “Best Farmstead Goat Cheese” at the prestigious American Cheese Society judging AND chosen as the best Crottin, better than the French originals, in a recent Wall St. Journal tasting. |
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SHELBURNE FARMS6 YEAR OLD FARMHOUSE CHEEDER |
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VERMONT BUTTER & CHEESE CREAMERYBIJOU – When we think of French goat cheese we reminisce about the open air markets where small, delicately ripened, Crottins de Chavignol are on display. An American line of French-style ripened goats’ cheeses would not be complete without a small bijou-like crottin. Bijou is French for jewel and this new cheese epitomizes all that is special about goats and goats’ milk, and the making and caring for a small cheese. |
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WESTFIELD FARMSCLASSIC BLUE LOG – This unique, 4.5 oz, slightly aged goat cheese log is our flagship cheese, and first prize winner at the 1999 American Cheese Society’s Annual Judging. It is one of a very few external blue chevres made in the world. Served in a number of America’s finest restaurants, the Classic Blue is often seen as the focal point of a fine cheese board or as as a medalion placed atop a filet or vegetable dish. The Roquefort rind is a striking color that develops on the surface and slowly ripens toward the center. |
March Cheese Feature
March 11th, 2010Saint-AndrÉ cheese
“Triple crème” cow’s milk French cheese in a powdery white, bloomy skin of mold. It has a soft buttery texture, and tastes like an intense version of Brie. Extra heavy cream is added to the cheese during manufacture. A traditional wheel of Saint-André is smaller and shaped higher than the familiar flat wheel of Brie. Saint-André is so fatty it can make a white wine taste sour and metallic: a crust of baguette and a light beer or simply a slice of pear are often suggested as better complements.
Muranda Cheese
Experience. That’s what the cheesemakers at Muranda have on their side and what will make a world of difference in their assortment of handcrafted cheeses. The Murray family has years of experience in making some of the nation’s highest quality milk from some of the world’s most well-known Registered Holsteins. And this experience has not gone unnoticed, as this Finger Lakes dairy has received the “Dairy of Distinction” award; the “Super Milk” award for 17 years, and the Progressive Breeders Herd designation.